Another Try
by AshtonJacks
Summary: Laura makes a life change. Featuring laura and Scott


Another One Hour Challenge story. The time markers indicate the beginning and ending time :)  
  
My plotline, ABCs characters, please don't steal borrow or otherwise use my work-Thanks  
  
  
Start 7:12 Am  
  
Laura Spencer slowly walked into her house after quitting her job at GH. She had never expected to do that, but with Helena as CEO, she wasn't about to deal with that woman's reign of terror in her personal life as well. Why couldn't Alexis have assumed that position, Laura found herself wondering. Though she and Alexis were far from friends, they shared a mutual respect for each other that would have helped Laura to get her job done without a personal vendetta standing in her way. She smiled briefly as she remembered Bobbie coming to her defense. She couldn't have ever expected that from her former rival.  
  
She looked around her house warily. Things seemed just slightly out of place. Was someone lurking in the dim depths, she wondered as she carefully walked around, checking the strength of the doors and windows. No one appeared to be stepping out of the darkness to frighten her, she surmised when only silence met her wary countenance.  
  
Laura slowly walked into the kitchen and made herself a pot of coffee. As she walked back to the living room, she fingered the issue of the Port Charles Herald that was lying on the coffee table. "Why do I surround myself with this negativity." She chided quietly. As she sat there desperately trying not to look at the lurid headline, loneliness descended upon Laura's shoulders. As she tried to shrug the dark mantle off, it clung even more tenaciously, and suddenly the empty house seemed oppressive in its silence. She considered going to Jake's for a moment before dismissing that idea. Helena's crack about public drunkenness had really effected her. She couldn't stay in the quiet house anymore though.  
  
With no clear idea of her destination, Laura abruptly grabbed her car keys and purse. She didn't need to know where she was going from the outset did she? There wasn't exactly anyone to report to. Lucky was off rebuilding his own life, Luke was away again and Lulu and her mother were in North Carolina for the weekend. There was no one to tell her what to do or to wait up for her.  
  
Laura sighed as the full implications of her life hit her. She wasn't even forty years old, and her home life consisted of three generations of females under one roof. She could have changed that, she realized with an embarrassed flush, if she had stayed with Stefan Cassadine, but it just wasn't right. He had never been right for her. She moved to the door and yanked it open, shocked when she collided with a strong masculine chest.  
  
  
Scott couldn't go home. He didn't know why he was compelled to see Laura but he had to. He had learned from Bobbie what had happened between Laura and the new hospital benefactor and while outraged, he didn't see what could be done from a legal standpoint. Laura had been away for an extended period of time without first requesting the leave of absence. While Alan would have been willing to work with her, Laura's decision to quit severed many of the legal avenues that had been open to them.  
  
Scott ran a hand through his short blond hair and sighed. Her job status wasn't the only reason for seeing Laura and he knew it. He didn't know what was going on inside himself; maybe his feelings for her were sheer protectiveness or maybe they were much more. He didn't want to know right now.   
  
After leaving the hospital, Scott had driven by the Grille and Jake's, but thankfully Laura wasn't at either establishment. He'd just try her house once before going home, he told himself. Aha there was her car in the driveway and her silhouette could easily be seen through the gauzy curtains of the brightly lit house. Scott had been ready to knock when she pulled the door open and strode out and right into him.  
  
"Laura." He said in a soft tone as his arms went around her automatically.  
  
"Scott." Laura exclaimed in shock. She backed out of the comfort of his embrace and settled on the porch swing. He stood awkwardly over her for a moment, before she patted the seat beside her in invitation. "What are you doing here? I was just planning on going out."  
  
Scott had just settled into the porch swing, when her words met her ears. He popped up again and gave her a shy smile. "I just wanted to see how you were. I heard about the mess at the hospital, but if you're going out I won't bother you."  
  
Laura gave him a stern look. "Nonsense. I just had to get out of the house. I didn't have a destination in mind. Sit back down Scott Baldwin."  
  
He sighed and settled back onto the swing. She could boss him around so gently sometimes. "Are you all right?"   
  
Laura's heart lurched at the gentle tone of his voice. It washed over her comfortingly, and she instinctively scooted closer to that warmth. "I'm all right." Laura asserted quietly. "I don't know if they told you, but I quit." When he nodded, she went on. "I have to break free of the war with the Cassadines. Helena is the only one left and I won't do it anymore. My children keep getting caught in the middle."  
  
She looked so forlorn, Scott realized as he lifted an arm. "Come over here Laura." His blue eyes promised friendship and security and she moved against him without another thought.  
  
Scott's heart raced at the feel of her in his arms. It felt so right, as if he was complete again. He hadn't felt this whole since Dominique. Without a second thought, he leaned down to kiss her hair. "Do you ever wonder what it could have been like if our marriage had made it?" he asked quietly.  
  
Laura bit her lip before she answered. That was such a complex question to answer. She wouldn't have given her years with Luke up for anyone, nor her children's lives, but in truth she had wondered what might have happened if she and Scotty had made it together. "Scott we weren't meant for forever. What we had burned brilliantly, so brilliantly that it died out quickly."  
  
Scott considered her words for a long moment. In some ways she was right, they had loved too completely for their young years. "I guess you're right" He said as she settled closely to him. "You want to give it another try?"  
  
Finished 8:03AM   
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



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